FIM Supersport Championship Race Results From Phillip Island

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Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta RC – Yakhnich Motorsport) has written a new page in the history of motorcycle racing, winning the first world championship race for the iconic Italian brand MV Agusta since Giacomo Agostini's victory at the Nurburgring in 1976. The race was red flagged during the eighth lap due to the technical problem suffered by Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) and the oil laid on track by his CBR 600 RR. A bitter end of a difficult round for the Irishman, who took part in the race despite… (read more)

CIA INSURANCE HONDA'S Raffaele De Rosa scored a brilliant third place podium finish at the first round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia.

Starting from fourth on a restarted grid over a short five-lap dash, Raffaele got straight up to second place and was always in the hunt for the win, finishing a fraction of a second behind the winner at the end.

Nacho Calero stepped up a gear in the race and scored his first ever World Supersport points in 13th place on his CIA Insurance Honda.

Ireland's injured Jack Kennedy was permitted to start after completing warm up on his CIA Insurance Honda. He was left heart-broken after racing through to 13th from last on the grid but then being forced to retire with a mechanical problem on lap 9.

The second round of the World Supersport Championship is at Aragon in Spain on April 13th.

Raffaele: "I am so happy that this is my first podium in World Supersport. It was a shame the race was restarted and in the second part it was very fast and close. I want to thank CIA Insurance Honda for this opportunity. It is not easy adapting to a new bike and team with such short notice so this is a good result.”

Nacho: “To start the season with points was my target and now I have achieved this I am very happy. It has been a tough week after my crash in testing but I enjoyed the race and can go to my home round at Aragon confident I can score points again.”

Simon Buckmaster, CIA Insurance Honda Team Manager: "It is a great result for Raffaele and for CIA Insurance to be on the podium in their debut race. It is a just reward for superb riding by Raffaele.

“After his testing crash Nacho has stuck at it and it is fantastic for him get first points in World Supersport. This will boost his confidence for the second round at Aragon, which is a home race for him.

"We worked so hard to get Jack passed fit and then worked hard again in warm up to make sure he could start. Jack then made up a lot of places and was unfortunate to suffer a technical problem. It is all ifs and buts, maybe the technical would have happened yesterday if he had been allowed to ride. I have to pay a big tribute to Jack how quickly he has recovered and was able to race – his determination is incredible and I have no doubt he will be fighting for the podium in the races to come.”

Race Result

1. Jules Cluzel FRA MV Agusta Yakhnich F3 675 5 laps

2. Kev Coghlan GBR DMC Panavto Yamaha YZF-R6 +0.224s

3. Raffaele de Rosa ITA Core PTR Honda CBR600RR +0.317s

4. Florian Marino FRA Kawasaki Intermoto ZX-6R +0.347s

5. Roberto Tamburini ITA San Carlo Puccetti Kawasaki ZX-6R +0.822s

6. Kevin Wahr GER RS Wahr by Kraus Yamaha YZF-R6 +4.010s

13. Nacho Calero ESP CIA Insurance Honda CBR600RR +10.163s

Championship Positions (after one of 13 rounds)

1: Cluzel: 25

2: Coghlan 20

3: RAFFAELE DE ROSA (CIA INSURANCE HONDA) 16

4: Marino 13

5: Tamburini 11

6: Wahr 10

13: NACHO CALERO (CIA INSURANCE HONDA) 3

More, from a press release issued by Core PTR Honda:

FILM ON THE PACE IN AUSTRALIA

CORE’ PTR HONDA’S Ratthapark Wilairot was fighting for the podium in his debut World Supersport race at Phillip Island in Australia when he crashed out unexpectedly with just over one lap to go.

Film had impressed in the opening 9-lap race sitting in eighth place when the red flag came out. In the short five-lap restarted race he was fighting for the podium and in fifth place when he lost the rear end and crashed out.

The second round of the World Supersport Championship is at Aragon in Spain on April 13th.

Film: “I am disappointed not to finish my first World Supersport race. In the first part I was comfortable in eighth and then in the restart I was pushing hard and in fifth. The positives are that I have learnt a lot more about the Supersport class and my Core’ PTR Honda race bike and team. We have shown we can compete at the front and I cannot wait to get to the next race now.”

Simon Buckmaster, Core’ PTR Honda Team Manager: “Film has been fast all week and was right there in contention in fifth place when he lost the rear on the exit of turn six. He says he did nothing different and it was an unusual crash – similar to Sofuoglu. We will check the data and see what happened and work with him moving forward to help prevent it from happening again. Film has shown he has got the speed and for sure we can look forward to him fighting for the podium at Aragon and for the rest of the season.”

Race Result

1. Jules Cluzel FRA MV Agusta Yakhnich F3 675 5 laps

2. Kev Coghlan GBR DMC Panavto Yamaha YZF-R6 +0.224s

3. Raffaele de Rosa ITA Core PTR Honda CBR600RR +0.317s

4. Florian Marino FRA Kawasaki Intermoto ZX-6R +0.347s

5. Roberto Tamburini ITA San Carlo Puccetti Kawasaki ZX-6R +0.822s

6. Kevin Wahr GER RS Wahr by Kraus Yamaha YZF-R6 +4.010s

13. Nacho Calero ESP CIA Insurance Honda CBR600RR +10.163s

Championship Positions (after one of 13 rounds)

1: Cluzel: 25

2: Coghlan 20

3: RAFFAELE DE ROSA (CIA INSURANCE HONDA) 16

4: Marino 13

5: Tamburini 11

6: Wahr 10

13: NACHO CALERO (CIA INSURANCE HONDA) 3

More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:

A HISTORIC WIN FOR MV AGUSTA

BACK ON TOP OF THE PODIUM AFTER 38 YEARS

Varese, 23rd February 2013 – Thirty-eight years on from their last success, achieved by the great Giacomo Agostini on his 4-cylinder 350 cc at the Nürburgring, MV Agusta are back on the top of a world championship podium. The superb F3 675 of the MV Agusta Reparto Corse - Yakhnich Motorsport team has, in fact, pulled off a stunning Supersport win at the Phillip Island circuit to take the first round of this World Championship.

The win followed an incredible comeback by Jusel Cluzel: despite starting from 14th place on the grid, he soon set an astonishing pace, steadily making his way up the field to catch the leaders and setting the scene for a spectacular battle for final victory. In the end a gutsy Cluzel got the best of Coghlan and De Rosa, who came in second and third respectively. In short, the young French rider of the MV Agusta Reparto Corse - Yakhnich Motorsport team rode a blinder, showcasing both his considerable talent and the bike’s enormous potential.

The team’s other standard bearer, Vladimir Leonov, might well have put in an equally brilliant performance were it not for an unfortunate fall in the first few laps.

Jules Cluzel: “We were terribly unlucky both during testing and at the start of the weekend. We rode far fewer laps than we should have. So, after that, going on to win was just a dream! Before the start I told my mechanics I’d do my utmost: and that’s exactly what I did, without making a single mistake. It’s a deserved victory; we’ve still got a long way to go but we’re convinced that the bike and the Team have huge potential”.

Delighted by this success, Giovanni Castiglioni, President of MV Agusta, stated: “A marvellous win, an indescribable thrill. I want to dedicate this first victory to my father, whose faith in MV and the possibility of a successful return to racing was always unshakeable, and the late father of Brian Gillen, our Reparto Corse manager. I want to thank the Yakhnich Motorsport team and everyone involved in this ambitious project for their exemplary commitment”.

Como-born rider Claudio Corti’s debut in Superbike proved more problematic yet was, nevertheless, encouraging. Riding the F4 RR, he finished the two races in 13th and 18th position respectively, with only a tough start in Race 2 preventing him from taking points in both.

More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda Supersport Team:

Supersport disappointment for Pata Honda in Australia

The Pata Honda World Supersport team will leave Australia empty-handed after today’s first round World Supersport championship race at the Phillip Island circuit near Melbourne.

The team’s Italian rider, Lorenzo Zanetti, sustained an injury to his left hand in a last-lap qualifying crash yesterday. The 26-year-old was transferred to hospital in Melbourne where he underwent surgery, forcing him to miss today’s race.

His Pata Honda team-mate, Michael van der Mark, had been in impressive form all weekend and started the scheduled 18-lapper from the front row of the grid, alongside reigning world champion, Kenan Sofuoglu.

Van der Mark was competing for the podium positions when the race was red-flagged after seven laps. Race organisers declared a five-lap sprint race for the re-start in which the Dutch rider competed once more for a rostrum finish.

However, van der Mark crashed at Phillip Island’s turn two on the second lap and, although he was able to re-start, the 21-year-old crashed again on the following lap whilst trying to get back into contention.

The Pata Honda team will be back in action at round two of the series at Motorland Aragon in Spain on 11-13 April.

Michael van der Mark - DNF

The first part of the race was quite OK – I took the lead but I was a little too enthusiastic and made some mistakes, which allowed Kenan [Sofuoglu] and Kev [Coghlan] to pass me. When I followed them I felt I could do the lap times really easily so I held myself back a little bit because it’s a long race and I wanted to look after my tyre. When I was close to them again I wanted to overtake and follow Kenan but we got the red flag. The new race was five laps which was a little disappointing because we worked hard on race simulations all week because of the tyre situation. To travel all the way round the world for a five-lap race at the end of all that was tough. The crash was my mistake and I feel so sorry for the team because we worked so hard. On the positive side, I think we showed how much progress we hav e made over the past year in closing the gap to the front, so I’m really happy with this and I look forward to Aragon.

Pieter Breddels - technical co-ordinator

It’s a shame that Lorenzo could not start because of the operation on his finger, but he should be OK again in time for the next event in Aragon. We send him the team’s best wishes for a speedy recovery. Michael got away OK and was in a comfortable third place, trying to save his tyres and doing the pace easily before we got the red flag. The rest of the race was reduced to just five laps but he got off the line OK again and was in fourth when he overdid it a little and crashed out. He got up but crashed again a lap later. The good news is that he’s not hurt but the bad news is we lost a race that we could have won. He showed really good speed all week so, for sure, he’ll be back at Aragon trying to show how he can fight for a win.

More, from a press release issued by Smiths Triumph Supersport Team:

Super Seventh For Gowland As Billy Crashes Out

The Smiths Triumph Racing Team kicked off their 2014 season in contrasting styles when they contested the opening round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia this weekend.

The Gloucester-based 2012 British Supersport champions were running both Australian Billy McConnell and Northumberland rider Graeme Gowland on factory-supported Triumph Daytona 675Rs at the Victoria racetrack as part of their preparation for the forthcoming Motorpoint British Supersport Championship season which starts at Easter.

Adelaide rider McConnell, who turned 27 on Christmas Eve, was hoping for a good result at his home track and qualified in 12th position with 28-year-old Gowland, from Allendale, posting 18th on his return to the track.

As the race got underway, McConnell got a good start and circulated with the leading bunch for the opening lap in eighth position with Gowland a bit further down but looking to move up which he soon did.

Placed third in the last three seasons in BSS, McConnell maintained his top ten placing as the battle intensified and by lap six, he remained just five seconds off the lead with former Spanish Supersport champion Gowland making good progress up to 12th.

The Smiths Triumph Racing pair held station and were looking good to add to the amazing finishing record as wild cards when out came the red flags when Jack Kennedy's Honda dropped oil after a technical problem meaning a five lap dash for the restart.

McConnell was once again chasing after the leaders on the opening lap when he crashed out uninjured at the Siberia corner as Gowland held 11th. Gradually, with a combination of some hard riding and a little bit of attrition, the Geordie rider crossed the line in a fantastic seventh place, just five seconds off the intense battle of the leaders, to record the best World Championship result of his career.

Despite McConnell's disappointment, Gowland's achievement cemented the Smiths Triumph Racing Team's reputation of strong results as wild card entries in the World Supersport Championship. In 2012, Glen Richards qualified his Smiths Triumph in fifth at Donington Park before going on to finish fifth in the race whilst McConnell took a superb ninth in that race and the third member of the team, Luke Mossey, also scored a point in 15th place. At the same Donington Park race in 2013, Richards claimed an amazing third slot on the grid and came home ninth in the race.

Team Manager Rebecca Smith: "Phillip Island has been a fantastic shakedown for us as a team. Graeme has slotted into the team perfectly and everybody has worked hard this week to produce his result here. Obviously we are disappointed for Billy but he has more than shown what he was capable of. The Smiths Triumph Daytona 675R has again proven to be a very competitive machine and the start of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship season can't come soon enough now."

Billy McConnell: "I was really looking forward to my home race and felt comfortable all weekend. The race was going fine until the red flags came out and then in the restart, I was very disappointed to crash out on the opening lap as I felt a good result was possible. Still, we can take a lot of positives away from this weekend which will stand us in good stead for Brands Hatch."

Graeme Gowland: "This has been a brilliant opportunity for me to familiarise myself with the Triumph 675R and the Smiths Racing Team. It's been a great experience for me and the team; we have achieved a lot and have been competitive. We are now looking forward to coming back home to start our testing plan and look forward to the opening round at Brands Hatch."

The opening round of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship gets under way at Brands Hatch over Easter (April 18/21st).